


Unseen

by bowties_Scarves_and_Plaid



Series: Bughead Tumblr Prompts [16]
Category: Riverdale (TV 2017)
Genre: F/M, jughead figuring out what makes betty tick
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-03-01
Updated: 2017-03-01
Packaged: 2018-09-27 17:19:28
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,575
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10035962
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/bowties_Scarves_and_Plaid/pseuds/bowties_Scarves_and_Plaid
Summary: "and everyday I'm learning about you the things that no one else sees" by XXRequested by http://crisoninthetardis.tumblr.com/





	

To most of the town, Elizabeth Cooper was the smart, sweet, girl next door. The one who was never late for an appointment, always did her homework, and always had a smile on her face.

But to Jughead, she was so much more. He saw the fire behind those green eyes. He saw how her smile sometimes looked forced. He saw how she gripped her hands into tight fists to keep control.

Jughead knew there was a lot more to her than you could see on the surface, and every day he was peeling back the layers, learning more and more about the incredible girl he was dating.

Jughead walked into the Blue and Gold offices just as Cheryl was walking out. The redhead blew past him with a hair flip, not even acknowledging his presence. Jughead entered to find Betty standing in the center of the room, her cheeks red and her hands in fists. It was a stance he had seen many times, and he knew it meant that she was fighting for control. Shutting the door behind him, Jughead hurried over to her. He took one of her hands in both of his, he slowly uncurled her fingers, surprised to see the red crescents on her palm. He gently kissed her palm before doing the same to her other hand. When he looked up he saw Betty watching him, her green eyes wide.

“I started it when I was little” Betty spoke softly, offering him an explanation to his unasked question. “I had a bad temper, I was always getting into fights with Polly. After one particularly bad screaming match, my mother came into my room. I still remember how scarily calm she was. I kept waiting for her to yell or get mad, but she didn’t. She simply said, ‘Elizabeth, do you know why I am not yelling? Because anger is not ladylike or kind. Before I came in here I counted backward from ten in my head to calm myself down. You need to find something that works for you, because I cannot have a daughter who loses her calm at the slightest thing.’ and then she left, just like that. So next time I got angry I tried counting back from ten, it didn’t work, but while I was counting I was concentrating so hard that my hands were in fists. It's when I noticed the pain that I finally calmed down. I focused on the pain in my hands instead of my anger and I was able to distract myself long enough to cool down. And I’ve been doing it ever since.” Betty finished and took her hands from his, turning her back to him.

“Betty…” Jughead walked around so he was facing her and took her face in his hands.

“I’ve never told anyone that” She looked up at him with eyes filled with tears.

“I’m sorry that your mother told you that it’s not okay to get angry because sometimes it is. Getting angry is only human, you have to blow off steam sometimes.”

“Easy for you to say, Mr. Mad at the world.” Betty scoffed, but her tone had no heat and her eyes held only affection.

“Look, I know we were raised differently, but next time you feel yourself getting angry, I say you get angry. Yell a little, you’d be amazed at how good it can feel.”

“I’m not sure Juggie.” Betty bite her lip

“Look, just try it. If you hate it then we will figure something else out okay?” Jughead ran his thumb across her lip, causing her to smile.

“Okay, I’ll try”

“Just promise me you won’t do this anymore.” He said, taking her hand.

“I’ll try” Betty repeated. Jughead leaned down to kiss her because her trying was all he could ask for.

*****

“What?” Jughead practically yelled with a laugh

“Shhh” Betty waved her hands at him and looked around Pop’s

“You’re telling me that you broke your hand in third grade it was by falling off the bed?” Jughead collapsed into laughed. Betty was watching him with a partly amused, partly exasperated expression.

“Yes Jughead, and may I remind you, you promised not to laugh.” Betty huffed. Jughead sat up straighter and attempted to compose himself.

“So that story you told us, about going off the jump on your bike and falling, that was a complete lie?” Jughead remembered how Betty had proudly walked into their third-grade classroom, displaying her pink cast and telling people her harrowing story as they signed it. She was viewed as quite the little daredevil for a while, after all, no other elementary school kid would ever dare to go off Joey Johnson’s bike jump. He was a high schooler who was known for his crazy jumps.

“Well it wasn’t a complete lie…” Betty said softly. Jughead perked up, waiting for her to continue. She laughed at his eagerness. “I did go off Joey’s jump, the only difference is that I landed it.”

“You what?” Jughead’s mouth dropped open in surprise

“I landed it” Betty gave him a smug look.

“They why did you tell everyone that’s how you broke your hand?” Jughead furrowed his brow in confusion.

“Because I was embarrassed with how I really broke my hand, and I knew if I told people the truth about Joey’s jump, it would eventually get back to my parents and they would ground me. My mom let me tell the lie about my arm because she knew I was embarrassed and she thought it wasn’t true.”

“You…” Jughead shook his head in amazement, “You never cease to surprise me, Betty Cooper. Not only were you a little daredevil, but you were a clever one as well.”

“Yup” Betty took a sip of her milkshake

“But, you were a bit of a clutz weren’t you. I mean who breaks their arm falling off of a bed.” Jughead teased. Betty reached across the booth to swat him on the arm.

“You’re never going to let me live that down are you?”

“Nuh-uh” Jughead shook his head.

“I never should’ve told you that.” Betty said with a laugh.

“Maybe, but if you hadn’t I wouldn’t know I wouldn’t know how badass my girlfriend was. I mean I always knew you were tough, but now that I know you’ve landed Joey Johnson’s jump, I have a whole new level of respect for you.” Jughead grinned. Betty’s eyes widened in surprise slightly.

“You think I’m tough?”

“Oh absolutely.” Jughead responded, watching her expression turn from surprised to mischevious. Betty leaned across the table and Jughead couldn’t help but lean forward as well.

“Good,” She said sweetly, “Because if you tell anyone how I really broke my arm, I’ll show you how tough I can be.”

“My lips are sealed.” Jughead leaned back in his seat and gave her his best smirk. He would never admit because he enjoyed teasing her so much, but he loved that she felt comfortable to tell him the things that she had never told anyone before.

*****

As time went on, Jughead was able to pick up Betty’s moods based on her mannerisms. He could tell before anyone else when she was happy or stressed or sad. Sometimes he suspected that he knew it before Betty herself knew what she was feeling.

Betty gestured with her hands when she was excited. Her movements grew bigger and she made a lot of sudden, slightly wild gestures with her hands. Jughead learned to stay a few steps back when she got like that. He would smile and let her go on and on about what was making her so excited.

Betty was very bouncy when she was happy. She would bounce on the balls of her feet, or in her chair, or as she walked. Jughead loved seeing her bouncing towards him from down the hall, blonde ponytail swinging behind her. She would bounce up to him, clap her hands together in front of her and tell him why she was happy.

Betty couldn’t sit still when she was nervous. She would fidget in her chair or get up and pace or twist her hands anxiously together. Jughead figured out that the best thing to do when she got like that was to get her moving. He would suggest a walk and tell her stories to distract her.

When Betty was stressed or overwhelmed, her ADHD kicked into overdrive. She had trouble focusing on what was happening in front of her and would often stare into space, caught up in her thoughts. Sometimes Jughead would encourage her to talk about what was wrong, other times, when she didn’t want to talk, he would leave her to her thoughts.

Betty’s face was an open book when she was sad. Her big green eyes would be wider than usual and filled with gloom. Her usual smile would be missing, replaced by a frown. Jughead found that affection was usual the best way to help her when she was sad. She would melt into his hugs and hold his hand tightly and lean against him as they walked. Jughead would make sure that she knew that he was there for her.

Every day he was picking up more and more about the incredible, amazing, complicated person that was Betty Cooper. He couldn't wait to learn all that he could, even if it took him the rest of his life.

**Author's Note:**

> Thanks for reading!! I love this prompt and if people like this one I might add onto it with one about Jughead from Betty’s perspective :)


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